Compare the top box office hits from last
weekend, last year (2017), and the previous year (2016). Describe two trends
that you see in the data. Which studios/companies were most successful in
capitalizing on these trends? And do you see these trends continuing in the
next 3 – 5 years? Limit: 9 responses
Over the past several years, and even beyond that there has been a significant shift in both the popularity and overall trends in the film industry. The past’s week’s highest grossing movies were: Black Panther, Peter Rabbit, Fifty Shades Freed, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, with Black Panther’s weekend gross $200 million more than the rest, because it was its premiere (“Weekend Box Office Results for February 16 – 19, 2018”). For 2017, the top grossing movies were Star War: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. (2017 Domestic Grosses”) Finally, for 2016, the top grossing movies were, Rogue One: A Star War Story, Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, and The Secret Life of Pets (2016 Domestic Grosses”).
ReplyDeleteWithin that data, there are seven adventure/super hero type of action movies, that have had loyal fan bases for years with comic books, novels, previous film, or any other form of media content and build up prior to the airing of that specific film. For example, the two Star Wars movies, have had loyal fan bases since the 1970s, so both adults who have been fans of Star Wars and younger generations who are either hearing about it from their parents and are interested, or independently gained an interest in it, will want to go see the movie. Additionally, there are four cartoon movies, and two with very historical ties to hit movies from the past in Beauty and the Beast and Find Dory. Therefore, those movies both tap into popularity of the younger children demographic, of G-rated, heartfelt cartoon movies, but also the millennial generation that watched those movies growing up. So in essence, those movies will get millennials to see it to feel nostalgia, young children to see if because it appeals to them, and parents to see them, because the young children want to go to the movie in general, thus tapping three wide-ranging and large demographics all at once.
Studios like Bueno Vista, which produced the Star Wars movies, Finding Dory, and Black Panther, Universal, which produced Fifty Shades Freed and The Secret Life of Pets, and Sony, which produced Peter Rabbit and Jumanji, have taken advantage of these new trends in the film industry, such as a movement towards more strong fan base, action movies, and cartoon movies of mass appeal to many different demographics. This is the case because, “younger audiences are becoming more interested in streamable content that is accessible on their iPhones or tablets. They’ll still turn up at the multiplexes to see the Avengers save the world or watch Han Solo slide behind the wheel of the Millennium Falcon, but despite a few massive blockbusters, the zeitgeist continues to shift from the big to the small screen” (Lang). Therefore, since millennials have lost interest in movies overall, the film industry will need to tap into both the loyal fan bases of exciting action/super hero movies and still churn out cheap, yet mass appeal cartoon and kid-centric movies for the public to consume on multiple demographic levels.
Works Cited
Lang, Brent. “The Reckoning: Why the Movie Business Is in Big Trouble.” Variety, 27 Mar. 2017, variety.com/2017/film/features/movie-business-changing-consumer-demand-studios-exhibitors-1202016699/.
“Weekend Box Office Results for February 16-19, 2018.” Box Office Mojo,
www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2018&wknd=07a&p=.htm.
“2017 DOMESTIC GROSSES.” Box Office Mojo, http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2017&p=.htm
“2016 DOMESTIC GROSSES.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm.
After comparing the data from the top box office hits from last weekend, last year (2017), and the previous year (2016), I found that action movies and children’s movies always do the best in the box office. One trend is that there is always at least one children’s movie in the top four box office hits and it is normally an animated movie. Another trend that is popular among the top box office hits is that there is always a Disney/Marvel movie in the top five box office hits.
ReplyDeleteThe studio/companies that were most successful in capitalizing on these trends were Time Warner and Walt Disney. Marvel is a subsidy of Disney and continues to make movies that appeal to viewers that love action and comics. Marvel movies almost always make the top five movies of the year. Disney movies such as Finding Dory and Rogue One have also topped the charts in the past year. Disney is a household name that capitalizes on the fact that people love to follow their movie series and people anxiously wait for the next movie to come out. Time Warner also owns Warner Bros., which has had great success in the past few years with movies such as the LEGO movies. The Hollywood Reporter published a report that says, “Warner Bros. topped its 2016 full-year film profit record with a 12 percent increase to $1.86 billion, good enough to once again rank behind Disney. The studio posted its best year ever at the global box office, as well, with five films bringing in more than $500 million worldwide, including It ($700 million globally) and Dunkirk ($525 million)” (Bond & Szalai). This goes to show how much these two studios truly dominate the industry by keeping up with the latest trends and producing content that people look forward to going to see in theaters.
The trends that are in the top five of box office hits each year are normally action, animated and horror. I believe that these trends will continue to grow for the next 3 -5 years because they will continue to become popular. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore said, “Superheroes were among the best box office performers in 2017 as were horror films that in North America alone generated over $1 billion in box office,” (McNary). This explains why Marvel movies and movies such as “Get Out” will continue to thrive in the markets. Studios will continue to follow these trends because they know that viewers follow them closely. CNBC published an article that said, “The film's $40.2 million haul on Monday was the biggest Monday at the U.S. box office ever. ‘Black Panther’ also posted the fourth-best first week at U.S. theaters and took the crown for the best North American opening week for a Marvel Studios film. Audiences have packed multiplexes to experience the first big-budget superhero movie to feature a majority black cast, set its story in an African locale, and tackle the legacy of slavery and themes of black identity” (DiChristopher). Viewers are also looking for casts that most resemble themselves. They want to be able to relate to the characters. Studios are picking up on this fact and diversifying their cast and pairing it with genres that do the best in the box office.
Works Cited:
Bond, Paul and Georg Szalai. "Studio-by-Studio Profit Report: Disney Reigns, Viacom Stems Losses," The Hollywood Reporter 23 Feb. 2018. Web.
DiChristopher, Tom. “ ‘Black Panther’ Boasts 2nd Best Sophomore Weekend in US Box Office History.” CNBC, CNBC, 25 Feb. 2018.
McNary, Dave. "Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row," Variety 27 Dec. 2017. Web.
References:
"Weekend Box Office – February 16 – 19, 2018," Box Office Mojo. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
"Weekend Box Office March 3 - 5." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 7 March 2017. Web.
"2017 Domestic Grosses," Box Office Mojo. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
"2016 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 7 March 2017. Web.
For the past few years, the box office has seen a distinct pattern of what genres and movies will be popular and fan favorites among the audience. These patterns are nothing new and can be seen in the film industry for many years now. In 2016, the top grossing films were Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, The Secret Life of Pets, and The Jungle Book (“2016 Domestic Grosses”). All of these are either action or animated films. Jump to 2017 and the results are unsurprisingly similar. The top five are Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galazy Vol. 2, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (“2017 Domestic Grosses”). All of these with the exception of Beauty and the Beast are action movies, with Beauty and the Beast being an adaptation of an animated movie. There is even another pattern with certain movies and production companies that make their way to the top. In particular, the Star Wars movies always seem to rank high on the top grossing list because of their dedicated fan base. The Marvel and DC Comics movies also typically rank high as well, in a similar situation as Star Wars, with having such a large fan base that goes to see the movies. Another trend to notice is the studios that distribute the films. The top two highest grossing films in both 2016 and 2017 were from Buena Vista Studios. For February 16-19 of 2018, the top five weekend grossing movies are Black Panther, Peter Rabbit, Fifty Shades Freed, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and The 15:17 to Paris (“Weekend Box Office – February 16-19, 2018”). Once again, the movies are all categorized in the same genres that have placed in the top grossing for the past several years – action and animation, with a Marvel movie once again right at the top. In addition, Black Panther, which holds the number one spot, is from Buena Vista Studios as well.
ReplyDeleteStudios like Buena Vista have found these patterns and used the trends to dominate the film industry. In 2016, they had four out of the top five highest grossing movies and in 2017 they had three out of the top five. They pushed out both animated and action movies, leading them to nothing but success and the top of the charts, because that is what people go to see the most.
As mentioned before, this pattern is not a new trend. In 1996, the top five grossing movies were Independence Day, Twister, Mission: Impossible, Jerry Maguire, and Ransom (“1996 Domestic Grosses”). With the exception of Jerry Maguire, a comedy-drama film, all the movies on the charts are action movies. Number six on the list is 101 Dalmatians, a real-life adaptation of an animated film, and a little further down is The Hunchback of Notre Dame, an animated film (“1996 Domestic Grosses”). Because of this, I really don’t believe that much will change in the next three to five years in terms of what genres are popular. These trends go as far back as 1996, possibly even further, so I don’t see a large chance of them changing any time soon. People enjoy action and animated movies, so as long as these continue to roll out, the studios and production companies will also continue to profit and grow.
Works Cited
“1996 Domestic Grosses.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1996.
“2017 Domestic Grosses.” Box Office Mojo, http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2017&p=.htm
“2016 Domestic Grosses.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm.
“Weekend Box Office – February 16-19, 2018.” Box Office Mojo,
www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2018&wknd=07a&p=.htm.
Taking a look at this past weekend’s box office hits, according to Daily Box Office Mojo, the top five movies that brought in the most at the box office were Black Panther, Red Sparrow, Death Wish, Peter Rabbit, and Game Night. Last year’s top five grossing movies for 2017 were Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Finally, taking a look at 2016’s top five films were Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, The Secret Life of Pets, and The Jungle Book.
ReplyDeleteBased on the past two years, there is an obvious trend of Disney movies always making it in the top five films list. With titles including Star Wars and Guardians, Disney has found a recurring niche audience in superheroes and action films. It’s benefited them to a certain degree at the box office. In an article published by Variety, senior media analyst with comScore Paul Dergarabedian said, “Superheroes were among the best box office performers in 2017… in North America alone generated over $1 billion in box office” (McNary). Another recurring trend for Disney in the past two years is their children’s movies, including Finding Dory in 2016, and Beauty and the Beast in 2017. There is also a plan underway for Disney to purchase 21st Century Fox studios, which would boost box-office market share. In fact, it was predicted that if Disney had bought Fox studios in 2017, “its domestic box-office market share would have been 38 percent” (Szalai and Bond).
Aside from only Disney movies, a theme that was prevalent in these top movies were the genre of movies that made the top five lists. At least one movie each year was an action movie. On top of that, 2017 had seen its top movies with female leads, two of which being action films. In fact, they made it to the top three, “marking the first time that the top three highest grossing films at the domestic box office have featured female leads since 1958” (Kaye). In the direction films are going today, this may become somewhat of a norm for films now. There are predictions for films in 2018 such as Annihilation starring Natalie Portman, Red Sparrow starring Jennifer Lawrence, Tomb Raider featuring Alicia Vikander, Captain Marvel with Brie Larson, and more to top the box office charts for the year, continuing the trend of female lead roles in action films. Everyone’s eyes are on box office numbers to see which film will out-do the next, and also see if 2018 will follow these same trends that have appeared in the past two years. It will be interesting to look at the reviews by the end of this year to see if these predictions come true.
Works Cited:
Kaye, Don. “The Top Three Films of 2017 Were All Female Led - and All Genre Movies.” Syfy, SYFY WIRE, 3 Jan. 2018.
McNary, Dave. “Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row.” Variety, 3 Jan. 2018.
Szalai, Paul Bond Georg. “Studio-by-Studio Profit Report: Disney Reigns, Viacom Stems Losses.” The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2018.
References:
"Weekend Box Office March 3 - 5." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 7 March 2017. Web.
"2017 Domestic Grosses," Box Office Mojo. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
After comparing the top box office hits from last weekend, last year, and the previous year I’ve seen some repeating trends. Last week, Black Panther, Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed were slotted as the top three in the box office. On its opening weekend Black Panther grossed over $200 million more than the two others. (Weekend Box Office – February 16 – 19, 2018.) In 2017, the top three grossing movies were Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Women. The Last Jedi made over 600 million dollars domestically, with Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Women coming in at over 100 million and 200 million less domestically. (2017 Domestic Grosses.) The top grossing films domestically from 2016 were Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, and Captain America: Civil War. (2016 Domestic Grosses.) Rogue One was Star wars first successful go at stand-a-lone movies which are not included in the saga. It ended up being a grand slam in the box office earning over 500 million domestically. There is a huge trend with success in the box office and superhero movies. In each of the three years that I observed, at least one superhero movie was in the top 3 every single year. The two biggest companies currently making big superhero movies are Marvel and DC, with DC definitely drawing the short end of the stick between the two. Today, a well-made popular superhero movie has success written all over it. The other big trend that is obvious is Star Wars’ reign at the top of the box office. Star Wars lead the box office with The Last Jedi in 2017 domestically, Rogue One in 2016 domestically, and The Force Awakens in 2015 domestically. (Top-US-Grossing Feature Films Released 2015-01-01 to 2015-12-31.) Now that is pure domination in any which way you slice it. What both of these trends have in common is that they each have a very loyal fandom. Practically all superhero movies are based off of their comics that are collected worldwide. Star Wars has its own niche audience who eat, sleep, and breath everything Star Wars. The superhero universe and Star Wars universe are both large multi faceted franchises, which are what sets them apart from everybody else and is also the reason why they are so successful. With action figures, comics, TV shows, memorabilia, and much more, they have so many revenue streams. This gives them the best resources possbile to be successful in the movie business. Even more importantly is the built in audience that each of these brands has. They go into making the movie with the confidence that their loyal followers will always show out in full force no matter what. A standalone movie doesn’t have that built in audience or name recognition, making it hard to compete at the very top of the box office. The way it looks now, these trends are going to continue for a long…long…long time.
ReplyDeleteSources
Delete2016 DOMESTIC GROSSES. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm
2017 DOMESTIC GROSSES. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2017&p=.htm
Top-US-Grossing Feature Films Released 2015-01-01 to 2015-12-31. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=boxoffice_gross_us&title_type=feature&year=2015%2C2015
In the past years the film industry has been declining in profits and attendance. The industry still makes billions of dollars but historically they are down. The past’s week’s highest grossing movies were: Black Panther, Peter Rabbit, Fifty Shades Freed, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Black Panther’s weekend gross of $200 million more than the rest is due to the fact it was its premiere (“Weekend Box Office Results for February 16 – 19, 2018”). For 2017, the top grossing movies were Star War: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. (2017 Domestic Grosses”) Lastly, for 2016, the top grossing movies were, Rogue One: A Star War Story, Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, and The Secret Life of Pets (2016 Domestic Grosses”).
ReplyDeleteMany of the films are adventure and superhero movies that appeal to younger demographic. This means that many parents are taking under aged kids to watch the movies and this helps increase the amount of tickets sold. Also there is a large international devotion/following for superhero content. Because of their large following is it much easier for them to do well in the box office as opposed to a film that didn’t stem for the comic book realm. This also goes hand in hand with films like Star Wars or any Disney movie. They have a historical reputation of producing good films and captivating millions. It’s interesting to note that in 2012 Disney purchased Lucasfim, the studio that makes all the star wars films. An interesting trend for Disney and some other studios is how they are profiting from remaking older movies. Films like Finding Dory and Beauty and the Beast have grossed millions and millennial’s have technically have been purchasing Disney’s content since they were very young.
With the progressing of the media industry I feel movies have lost their luster. With a transition from physical formats to streaming it becomes less personal. There is something magical about putting a tape into the VCR and having to rewind all the way to beginning of the film. Kids nowadays have thousands of films at the tip of their fingers and they don’t have to fiddle with physical formats, this leads to them becoming less involved. Christopher Vollmer, a global entertainment and media analyst with consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said, "There are concerns that box office attendance is declining, both as a result of weaker than expected performance of some releases but perhaps more importantly because of less interest in movie-going by consumers” (Snider).
"Weekend Box Office – February 16 – 19, 2018," Box Office Mojo. Accessed 24 Feb. 2018. Web.
"Weekend Box Office March 3 - 5." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 7 March 2017. Web.
McNary, Dave. "Disney Becomes Box Office Champ for Second Year in Row," Variety 27 Dec. 2017. Web.
Krantz, Matt, et al. “Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 30 Oct. 2012,
Snider, Mike. “Theaters taking hits from movie viewing at home, weak box office.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 2 Aug. 2017,
After taking a look at the box office hits over the past weekend, 2017, and 2016, I’ve discovered a common trend for each year; Action movies seem to always be at the top. These classic comic book series seem to dominate the film industry and constantly top each other year after year. This past weekend saw Black Panther absolutely dominate the box office with a weekend gross that netted over 60 million. Following Black panther was Red Sparrow, Death Wish, and Game Night which all fell over 45 million shy of what Black Panther netted this weekend. Is Black Panther getting this much attention because Black Panther had all this racial hype surrounding the movie? Or is it because Superhero movies have always dominated the box office? Well, in 2017 the box office watched star wars absolutely dominate Box records and watched Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, Thor, and Justice League all follow in the top 10. Six of the top ten highest grossing movies from 2017 were comic book series, action based, with recognizable brands. There was no difference when it came to the 2016 box office records either. Five out of the top ten highest grossing movies were comic series with plenty of action . Star Wars dominated 2016 box office along with dominating 2017’s box office. Start Wars is on pace to release another movie later this year, and I’m going to go ahead and say that they’ll probably dominate 2018 also. See the film industry isn’t really that hard of an industry to predict. Yeah, you’ll have your surprises in the film industry, but for the most part, you know which movies will have a high total net gross. These comic series have fan bases that date back to the days the comics were first written and have only gained more of an audience since then. Marvel and DC Comics have really dominated the film industry for the past decade and I see no reason why they would slow down. These Comic brands will continue producing remakes of these Superhero comics they’ve created and teamed with these large studios are too big to fail. Buena Vista and Warner Brothers have by far been the two top studios that have capitalized the most on these comic series and I can’t see a future that doesn’t have these studios producing these comic classics.
ReplyDeleteWork cited
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2018&wknd=07a&p=.htm
Every year the Oscars provide a platform to showcase the most successful and interesting movies. One thing that stays consistent is the dynamic nature of the movie industry. Creativity is always changing and evolving, and the movie industry understands this well. The highest grossing films for the Oscars were Black Panther, Peter Rabbit, Fifty Shades of Freed, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Weekend Box Office Results). On the other hand the top grossing movies for 2017 were Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Women, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017 Domestic Grosses). Additionally, 2016 had similar movies to 2017 with the top grossing movies being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Finding Dory, Captain America Civil War, and The Secret Life if Pets (2016 domestic grosses).
ReplyDeleteMultiple Studios produced the above movies, like Sony, Bueno Vista, and Universal. Production companies have been forced to shift their focus from more creative, independent films to oftentimes box office, mass appeal action movies in order to gain as much revenue as possible. This has, in my eyes, been an unfortunate result of the mass media and digital age that we live in. Gone are the days of smaller scale, lower budget movies reaching box office level and receiving national attention. Lower budget, but creative comedies by people like Adam Sandler, Jonah Hill, and Seth Rogan, used to be my favorites as they would rapidly rise to the top of the charts for their creative humor. Nowadays, it is clear that production companies like Sony and Universal are shifting focus to movies which very high production quality, with huge sales revenue as a result. Movies like Black Panther, Captain America, Star Wars, and Jumanji are all examples of movies that cost enormous amounts of money to create but also have a mass appeal that is guaranteed to get millions of viewers. Due to the nature of the culture we currently live in, movie production companies feel as though they must make as much money as possible.
With movie attendance at the theatre trending downward, production companies have to try even harder to get people out of their homes and into the theatres for a 10$ movie. This pressure is why production companies feel the need to only put out box office hits, for anything else at this point is essentially a waste of time for them. Millennials are a large reason for the downward trend of movie theatres, with most digital desires being fulfilled on small screens like Iphone’s and tablets. In Brent Lang’s article on why the movie industry is hurting, he describes how “younger audiences are becoming more interested in streamable content” (Lang). However, he found that they will “Still turn up at the multiplexes to see the Avengers save the world” (Lang). This is a keu point that explains the trends in the movie industry through recent years. With a focus on maintaining relevancy, movie industries have put all of their efforts into pleasing the younger generation in order to keep them going ti the theatres. They have done this by creating mass appeal movies that they know will appeal to millennial as well as the older generations, Action movies like Star Wars and any superhero movie usually has mass appeal and gets people of all ages to go to the theatre. Unfortunately, this is the movie industry that is here to stay. Theatre attendance will continue to decline, and companies will continue to over-exert their efforts into less and less creative films, and more mass appeal action movies that appeal to general desires.
Lang, Brent. “The Reckoning: Why the Movie Business Is in Big Trouble.” Variety, 27 Mar. 2017, variety.com/2017/film/features/movie-business-changing-consumer-demand-studios-exhibitors-1202016699/.
ReplyDelete“Weekend Box Office Results for February 16-19, 2018.” Box Office Mojo,
www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2018&wknd=07a&p=.htm.
“2017 Domestic Grosses.” Box Office Mojo, http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2017&p=.htm
“2016 Domestic Grosses.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2016&p=.htm.